Marang / Malaysia

Marang

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Little Marang is a coastal district town at the Malaysian east coast. It belongs under the administration of Kuala Terengganu and lies closely south of it. Since fellow travellers in former years talked nicely about the place and others along this coast and it's long, untouched sand beaches, I was curious about getting a personal impression on the place.

Marang is not old, it's historical roots date back to roughly the mid 19th century.

Although official numbers say that the place has only around 2,000 inhabitants, it looks larger than that. Much of the surroundings are still green, with sections of mangrove forests along Marang River, sand beach along the coast and tropical rainforest west in the back, where it get's hilly. The biggest attraction is therefore the nature around. Namely a trip up Marang River into one or two of the Malay kampongs (villages) is of major interest here.

Unfortunately, the beach has been spoiled by a bigger dam, an ugly concrete monster. In the long months of rainy season, the South China Sea is very rough here and there happens certainly the loss of sand and insofar a general land erosion.

Marang is a perfectly Malay place, means the population is almost 100% Muslim and, because it's so small, the Chinese and other ethnicities are almost absent. However, I found the local Muslims here very friendly and welcoming.

North of Kuala Terengganu lies a place with a very similar name, Merang, with which Marang must not be confused.

Beach at Marang

Dawn over the South China Sea. Marang has a recommendation for his long, untouched sand beaches. Image by Asienreisender, 3/2005